OMAN ISSUES CYCLONE RECOVERY DIRECTIVES, QUIETLY

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUSCAT 000596 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2017 TAGS: AMER AMGT ASEC PGOV PREL CASC KSAC KHLS MOPS MU SUBJECT: OMAN ISSUES CYCLONE RECOVERY DIRECTIVES, QUIETLY ACCEPTS FUNDS FROM GCC STATES REF: A. MUSCAT 590 ¶B. MUSCAT 587 ¶C. MUSCAT 581 Classified By: Ambassador Gary A. Grappo for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (SBU) After being conspicuously absent from the public eye during and following the devastating impact of tropical cyclone Gonu on Oma (refs A-C),Sultan Qabos presided over a heavily-publicized meeting of the Council of Ministers on the evening of June 11 at his residence outside of Muscat. At the meeting, the Sultan directed the formation of two committees to assist in storm recovery efforts. The first committee, headed by the Minister of Diwan of Royal Court, will be charged with assessing and creating an inventory of damage to the homes and property of Omani citizens. The second committee, chaired by the Minister of National Economy, will be tasked with coordinating the repair of the country's infrastructure including roads, bridges, water distribution systems, and the electrical grid. ¶2. (U) The Sultan also directed the establishment of a fund through the government-affiliated Oman Charitable Organization (OCO) to accept donations to provide "urgent assistance" to those severely affected by the storm. Although the government previously banned non-Omanis from contributing cash towards relief efforts (ref C),the OCO fund will accept monetary donations from all individuals and organizations. (Note: The Ambassador is requesting septel U.S. disaster relief aid to contribute to the fund. End Note.) The Sultan further authorized the deposit of seven million Omani rials (USD 18.2 million) to set-up the new OCO account. ¶3. (C) During a June 11 meeting with the Ambassador, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusef bin Alawi once again thanked the U.S. for its offers of direct assistance during and immediately after Gonu. He reiterated that the government believed that it had sufficient resources to manage recovery operations, and that Oman wished to be self-reliant in dealing with the storm's aftermath. He added, however, that Oman might still approach the U.S. for "specialized" assistance as reconstruction efforts progressed. The Minister also acknowledged that the government had quietly accepted the following monetary aid from GCC countries: USD 500 million from Saudi Arabia, USD 50 million from Qatar, and USD 10 million from Kuwait. GRAPPO